Blog 20 – Fourth Interview Questions

~The B-21 is a long range strategic bomber under development by Northrop Grumman.

As with each blog, you should choose an interesting visual to entice people to read what you have written.

1. Who do you plan to interview?  What is this person's area of expertise?
1. I am unsure about who I will be interviewing next; however, it will most likely be one of my mentor’s coworkers. Since I’m not sure about who I am going to interview yet, I cannot really tell what my interviewee’s exact expertise is, but I know that he/she will be working with the aerospace industry(most likely manufacturing or design/research).
2. Post 20 open-ended questions you want to ask an expert in the field concerning your senior project. Your focus should be finding answers to your EQ.
1. How will biofuels change commercial and military aviation?
2. How long do you think will it take for biofuels to before the primary source of fuels?
3. Are there any other alternative energy sources that may be used in future aircraft?
4. What is the biggest factor to consider when increasing aircraft fuel efficiency?
5. How else can fuel efficiency be increased in aircraft?
6. How can aircraft be more cost efficient?
7. How has the aerospace industry evolve in order to meet stringent regulations?
8. In what ways has the aircraft industry worsened?
9. How can the aircraft industry further improve?
10. What is the biggest problem that the aircraft industry has today?
11. How can additive manufacturing improve the aerospace industry?
12. Would the changes in technology be too costly?
13. How do the commercial and military aircraft industry differ in terms of efficiency?
14. Should the aerospace industry focus more on increasing strength/stiffness performance or increasing fuel efficiency through more aerodynamic designs and/or efficient engines?
15. What are geared turbofan engines?
16. Why are turbofans used more?
17. Are there other types of engines that may be more efficient?
18. How can the increase in biofuel use affect the designs of aircraft engines?
19. What other fuel sources are there for the aircraft industry?
20. What other thoughts/comments do you have about aircraft efficiency/cost efficiency?

If you have already interviewed someone two times, you aren't allowed to interview that same person without House teacher approval.

The interview itself is not due until Friday, April 15th to turnitin.com. However, we want to give you as much time as possible, so we are asking you to complete the blog now. Remember that in addition to turning in the interview to turnitin.com, you also need to turn in the verification sheet to your House teacher and post an audio excerpt of no less than 5 minutes on your senior project blog.

Blog 19 – Third Answer

~The Pratt & Whitney PW1000G is a high-bypass geared turbofan engine family. Unlike older turbofan engines, geared turbofan engines are more fuel efficient and deliver reduced ground noise. 

1. EQ
1. How can aircraft manufacturers utilize today’s technology in order to be cost efficient?
2. Answer #3 (Write in a complete sentence like a thesis statement)*\
1. Aircraft manufacturers can achieve cost efficiency with today’s technology through the use of more advanced aircraft engines, such as geared turbofan engines. Advanced aircraft engined designs like geared turbofan engines significantly increase the fuel efficiency and power output(thrust generated) of aircraft.
3. 3 details to support the answer
1. Low fuel consumption
1. Low greenhouse gas emissions
2. Compact and lightweight designs
1. Thinner/lighter nacelles as engine bypass ratio and fan diameter grow.
2. Decreases drag generated by awkward/ineffective engine designs.
3. Can be easily implemented to current aircraft systems, as engine replacements are much more simpler than entire system changes.
1. i.e. Current commercial aircraft cross section structures cannot be changed/altered because they serve as the skeleton/supporting structure.
4. The research source(s) to support your details and answer
1. Hughes, Chris. "Geared Turbofan Technology." NASA Ames Research Center, 8 Sept. 2010. Web. 02 March 2016. <http://www.aeronautics.nasa.gov/pdf/hughes_green_aviation_summit.pdf>.
5. Concluding Sentence
1. Although my third answer to the essential question points to an entirely new direction, I thought that it was still important because unlike my other two answers(efficient design through complex geometrical shapes and additive manufacturing), my last answer(advanced aircraft engines) is probably the most applicable/suitable option for the aerospace industry today. To explain, my third answer to the essential question is different from the first two in a sense that the first two answers can’t really address the issues that aircraft today have. It’s easy to design and create an efficient design through the use of additive manufacturing processes and complex geometrical shapes; however, it’s impossible to modify the inner structures of already existing aircraft. In other words, my first and second answer can only be used for aircraft that are yet to be manufactured. On the other hand, since my third answer deals with a more accessible part of aircraft. In most cases, it is cheaper to change an aircraft engine than to change an entire aircraft.